Category: Books

Truly an exceptionally unparalleled theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking is the author of the modern classic entitled A Brief History of Time. Designed to provoke as much as help understand the burning questions of who we are and why we are here, the book amazingly offers assistance in understanding fundamental questions of our existence as well as physics.

If you have ever wondered where the universe came from or how and why it began, this book should be on top of your list of must-have books. In this literary/scientific masterpiece, Stephen attempts to deal with those questions and even includes possible sources of the answers without using plenty of technical jargon.

The book covers a wide array of topics including black holes, gravity, the nature of time, the Big Bang, as well as the search by physicists for a huge unifying theory to everything.

If you love deep science like I do, you will be amazed at the vast concepts this book presents, but hopefully, you won’t suffer from mental vertigo like I did while reading. No matter how many times I go over the book, it still fascinates me how the brilliant cosmologist Dr. Hawking was able to leverage such a fantastically complex subject as time to give people the opportunity to somehow think about things such as alternate dimensions.

Stephen Hawking offers science enthusiasts a terrific journey that is always worth taking, with the ultimate objective being a unique understanding of the universe becoming perhaps an experience of the ‘mind of God.’

Perfect for those who love cosmology, physics, the history of science and natural philosophy, A Brief History of Time is one of the extremely few books in this particular category that never stops keeping readers fascinated even though most of its contents is fundamentally designed to stretch the mind at a greater level than is expected of this kind of scientific writing.

I love it, particularly because it has allowed me to reach beyond the boundary of standard curiosity to support my journey to the realm of knowledge.

The way Dr. Hawking uses non-technical terms to explain the origin, structure, development and eventual fate of our universe is outstanding. It provides the perfect reference for those who study modern physics and astronomy. The way the author talks about time and space will leave anyone more inquisitive with every turn of the page.

Dr. Hawking utilizes general relativity and quantum mechanics, the two major theories also employed by modern scientists, to describe the universe. He also talks about the quest for one single unifying theory that explains everything there is in the universe in a more comprehensible fashion.

In two decades, this book has sold more than ten million copies, making it a bestseller. It was translated into 35 different languages by the year 2001 and landed on the London Sunday Times bestseller list, remaining there for over four years.

If you have ever dreamed of exploring the universe by yourself, but you have little to no intention of spending your precious pennies on a telescope, I’m going to tell you about a book that I recently discovered and that just managed to blow me away.

Build Your Own Telescope is a book written by Richard Berry with the intention of letting people know about the means that you can take advantage of to build your own optical instruments with the help of which you can look at the stars. What I found particularly useful about this book was that it came with step-by-step, comprehensive instructions that didn’t seem to be intended for the ultimate tech-savvy individual. Instead, the author adopted a user-friendly terminology that allowed me to understand the plans and photographs.

Build Your Own Telescope can help you construct as many as five types of telescope. The 4” f/10 reflector, for example, is the perfect option for a person who’s only starting out and who has little to no experience when it comes to studying the field of astronomy. It’s the build that I would personally recommend if you’re a parent looking to create something fun that your child can use in his or her spare time.

The 6” f/8 Dobsonian Reflector is a light telescope that’s on the small side of things. The fact of the matter is that it’s one of the most satisfactory telescopes that you can build at home as it will entice the curiosity and interest of your kid for several years to come. Another type that you can construct with the help of the instructions in this book is the 6” f/8 Equatorial Reflector. This design is somewhat classic compared to those that I’ve tackled already, but it’s by far the best choice for people who are amateur craftsmen or occasional astronomers. It works and looks great, so it will even impress your friends if you decide to display it in your living room.

Last, but not least, Richard Berry’s book can also assist you with constructing your own 10” f/6 Dobsonian and 6” f/15 Refractor which are both powerful and versatile telescopes that typically outperform most of the models you can buy on the market nowadays as they have a large aperture.

Naturally, before deciding to purchase the book, I went through some of the reviews that it had gathered on sites like Amazon, for example. What really convinced me to choose it was that people said that the book takes an entirely different approach compared to others in that it presents the detailed plans of five telescopes that can be built from scratch.

The microscope is an instrument that aids in viewing objects that can’t be seen by the naked eye alone because of their small size. The science of observing really small objects using the microscope is called microscopy. When you call something microscopic, it means the object is not visible to the eye unless a microscope is used.

Microscopes can have an optical design, which utilizes light to deliver a visible and bigger image of the sample. Electron microscopes include scanning electron and transmission electron models. There are also ultra microscopes and various types of scanning probe microscopes.

If your child shows an interest in microscopy, or the study of tiny objects using a microscope, it is best to invest in some books about microscopes for children. This way, you wouldn’t need to memorize a bunch of names for the various parts of the instrument since your child can be guided with illustrations and explanations about this type of device. You can even read the book with your child in case they have difficulty understanding or reading some technical terms in the book.

The Microscope Book was made available on Amazon in paperback on June 30, 1997, written by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone, with illustrations by David Sovka. Best for children from 10 years and older, this provides an excellent introduction to the world of microscopy. It outlines the various types of microscopes and provides a physical description of the parts of the instrument.

It provides instructions on how to focus the optical system and of how to keep a journal for microscopy projects. The project materials are easily available. There are countless simple experiments provided for the young learner. We have this book in the school library’s Science section so I encourage my students to borrow it when they get the chance.

Your child will delight in the various discoveries to be made on the interesting structures of a variety of microscopic organisms as well as everyday foods and objects that can be observed under the fine lens of a microscope, for endless possibilities.

Our school library also has the library bound version of Janice VanCleave’s Microscopes and Magnifying Lenses: Mind-boggling Chemistry and Biology Experiments You Can Turn Into Science Fair Projects, 1st Edition. The author ensured this to be nicely put together to sustain the interest of the young reader.

Focusing on the use of a microscope for school science projects, this is ideal for students ages 9 through 12 years old. The softcover version has 112 pages in all.

Those are just some of the books worth investing in if you want to encourage your child to make the most of microscopy and an exciting new microscope. Any one of them should provide the complete science experience for your budding scientist.